Page 18 of Demon’s Temptation
He took in the room. In the middle, several tables had been pushed together to make one large one, and, yes, it had been covered by a tablecloth. It was beautifully set and everyone—the knights and their mates, James, Mia and Chaya’s father, Marcus, and near the end, Chaya herself—was seated.
He’d kept himself busy the last couple of nights, kept to his office, made sure they didn’t cross paths. And here she was. Of course she was here. Every part of him homed in on her like he hadn’t seen her in weeks not days. He started toward her, his feet taking control and guiding him right where he wanted to be.
“You can sit here,” Eve said, her voice cutting through the haze surrounding him, controlling him.
Shit.
There wasn’t even a seat beside Chaya. What did he think he was going to do? Tug her out of hers and pull her onto his lap?
Kneel on the floor beside her?
He inwardly groaned. That’s exactly what he wanted to do. Instead, he took the seat next to his friend and did his best to ignore his hunger for the female a short distance away.
They ate and talked, and as the night wore on people got up and moved about, changed seats. Except Gunner, since the male had already left. Brent couldn’t put his finger on it, but the male didn’t seem himself, seemed distant, and as soon as the meal was finished he’d excused himself and strode out. His departure was noted by his brothers and Brent hadn’t missed the concerned looks.
“We’re close,” Chaos said, breaking through his thoughts.
Brent was sitting at the end of the table with Laz, Chaos, and Rocco.
“There are demons in this city who’ve been here a long fucking time, almost as long as us. Okay, yeah, that’s a fucking long game, but you can’t tell me some of them haven’t grown in power, that they couldn’t somehow now be in league with Diemos.”
Diemos, Lucifer’s son and the current head asshole of Hell, since Lucifer was AWOL, wanted Earth and he wouldn’t stop until he got it. If anyone was behind the unrest in the city, it had to be him, but there was only so much Diemos could do from Hell. Finding out who’s strings he was pulling here in Roxburgh was top priority.
Chaos glanced meaningfully at Brent. “We know there are powerful demons out there.”
Brent shifted in his seat, fought the heat rising from under his shirt collar. “You have any leads?”
“Several,” Rocco said. “We’re watching. But with the block they have covering their tracks, it’s a slow fucking process. And while we try to figure this shit out, their army is growing.”
“If that’s the case, you’re going to need help.”
Chaos’s fingers tightened around his glass. “I’ve been in talks with the Hell hounds.”
“Yeah, and how’s that going?” Brent said.
“Could be better.”
Rocco snorted. “Now there’s an understatement. Our last talk ended with more than one black eye and a dislocated shoulder.”
“Still better than the meeting before that,” Laz said, resting his forearms on the table and smirking at Roc. “I forgot how much noses bleed. At least yours is straight again.”
Rocco flipped Lazarus off.
Brent bit back a laugh at the disgruntled look on Rocco’s face, then said, “My line of work brings me in contact with a lot of different beings. Some could be very useful. If there’s anything I can do. Anything at all, I’m here…”
Chaya’s scent hit him a second before she spoke.
“Me, too,” she said. “I want to help.”
The knights stilled and all eyes shifted to her.
“We won’t be needing your help, Chaya,” Chaos said. His voice said don’t even think about arguing with me. But this was Chaya, and she didn’t give a shit about warnings.
“Why? Because I’m a female?” she said, arms crossed, expression defiant as hell.
“No,” Chaos said. “Because you have no training and no idea what we’ll be up against.”
“You need more than just fighters,” she said. “This has gone far beyond that, hasn’t it? You need eyes and ears. You need people all over this city. We’re here and we’re ready to help. All you have to do is ask. Brent’s right, you need us. You have an army already right under your nose, ready and waiting.”
